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oe
7S‘PATARIALI AND THE BEGINNINGS OF DHARMASASTRA:
[AN ALTERNATE SOCIAL HISTORY
(OF EARLY DHARMASOTRA PRODUCTION
Patrick Ouvass
The University of eas, Austin
‘Let me begin by auting a memorable phrase of my frend and colleague
Soel Brereton, We Know that i ifeZamibirity needs contempt. tb scholar
‘Sip, however, amiaiy breads acceptance. We accep things hat have Deed
‘feat so many tana tht they are considered established truth, One ofthe
‘chia tasks of od scars fst challenge such “established tus
fy contrboton fay i fo prevent evidence regarding a few sses tat have
Team acceped by many chars without uch erical examination,
My pipet seeks fo presen a new dating, schome for the earliest,
normals vam a tool. for aber abet Tian txts sucha the
‘Sankitepes, This dating aso foes us to relink the social political, ad
‘SMonomic voniext forte hse ofthe Dharmasisuie genre of Hratre. The
row dating scheme ts ase on the examination of for ators) the concep
{on ferme’ and of ‘dharma’ presented by the eally grammar
fans Rayayena and Pat in conzas to that pesented in the erly
[Dhsrmngicras 2) the semantic story of the werm andthe concep of di
{twice boen) aplled to he upper three warns and especially to Brahms
Se practice of wearing the saci coed (Jump) associated with
‘ea tation (apamayana) and the satus ofa twice-born, expecially of
2 Brahmin: and 4) the term and concept of rivargs, the goals of human
xistene that playa ental oi Brahinaical thology
Widely diesen dates have been propose fr the four east extane
documents fom the Dhatmasietric Irion, which, beease. of theit
Sphortte (ura) form, are generally referred to in modern scholarly
‘Theourse es Dlarmasitas I give below soe ofthe ore infoenil dating,
‘schemes proposed
“[ecawana [Basdnaysnn | Apsstamba [vant]
me aca” — lous fant 0 Grin |
Kane 600-00 BCE [S020 BCE
[otra id3°c nice ive BC CE Jew
300-100 BCE
47Patrick Ot
‘The inluntialhisory of Dharmasisvas written by Robert Lingat
leary encapsulates the recived wor regarding the origin of his pore
‘of iersore snd the date of ay text
“Tne erie ia whic the dharma were compile eta fhe ae
latin generals tao he Braman sat woe mae oat
the sh ceatry Cane or two eetries Before the ie Bud aa
Teorey the peri nde wih te Bet fhe Sram, iactie
‘wsties wren in ep Sark several cenit he Cran en.”
"This is the recived wisdom tht T wold ike to challenge. Meh othe
dung ofthe carly texts on Dhar, ke the ding of most oter unient
Indian texts, is scaly a house of cards based on nothing but hunches ad
‘on dates of eter teas which re ikewie unreliable, 1 base my argues fr
the mos! pat on Pail, whose date the middlea he second centr BCE,
an be viewed as cata as one gts durin hs period of Indian histor. A
‘he out, willy out my thess and ny azzuments summary frm ad
Aovelop them inthe body af he psp
L My Thesis
1) Dharmasista production began in the 3 censury BCE, perhaps
1 bi erie as indicated By the references to Dharmasisr by bo mar
rammarians Kalyana [9° C. BCE] an Pata [mid 2” C, BCE)
{2} Most ofthe extant Dharmastiss, wit the posible exception of
Apastamba, however, cannot go back to that period batt pied ae
thats, probubly. the Ist cemury BCE. It my. arguments
accepted, we wil hive ozthink the ene period conseting of the fse fw
eatries before and afer the begining ofthe conn eras the dati of
‘tier sigatican tat ofthe pero, suchas the two Sanskrit epce We Would
sso have to reconsider the dates 'we have traditionally ascribed to various
Signiican nsitations, su asthe arama system, tbe eration of Whi
Serie othe #" century BCE.”
UL My Arguments
‘There are several things that I had known for some time aad 1 had even
rite about. But the prblem was, 0 after haps ost ht |
au the dos bat neserthouahe of satiny them This paper isan execs
Imeonecton those ds,
'D Pata and pssibty even Kstyayana if we ae to trast he interprets
ion of Pata, considered dharma and dharma alg hn he
ategory of lauita, Noval. a opposed tothe vai, the pte of Vee
“iscourse. This total ceatradiction tthe theology and episemology of
‘harmo articulated inthe Dharmastas,
1. Lect The Clan! aa, Bel, vy of Cais, 17
2 Lino Th lana Lon
EP Oura The Anna Su sry and Henao los nn Ne
an, aay Pre 8
usPasa and the Beginnings of Dharatasira
2) Theterm and concept di, twice-boro, sof roent orginal ike
hood i asa theogial novation created sometime afer Pata. Yon
‘most ofthe Dharmastiras, again wit Se notable excepuon of Apustari
the twicesorn sa centeal category inher Ubeology aad in thet arclaion
‘ofthe wana ideology
'3) The yop (or brahmasitre the serial cord commonly called
the "sacred vend" is such acetal feature of the cerry af Vali eta
tion apangyana) tha ia modern patance tis otenrefezed tas the "thread
ceremony" I the clasial pero, Beabanical deny was offen based ot
{he constantand uninterrupted wearing ofthe sacrificial cor. Yet, theancent
$e of upanayana given i the Gptyasueas an the Dhserasieas make mo
renion of the sacrificial cord, is compulsory wearing by those who have
Undergone Ved ination i ound for the hist Gime fo he Dharmas
Of Bawihiyana and Vash, thus proving usa chronological boundary
‘etween hese two tr tut nd ihe eater ones of Apa srl Cs
4) The term and concept of rharga he thre goals of dharma, aha
sn Aamo) enter igo the Dharmas theolgiea) discourse a 3 tims
fen ltr than dja The temo concep of trivarea ls abseat in Pua
fall four Diarmasttas, and inal the Vedic texts, although occupies 9
Somes cena pestuon in de meal Dharmadasas, beginning wih
‘Mon inthe Stns epics, and, significantly, in Kaus Archasasra end
‘nthe Komasira This provides a pood check regains he eonolgical
boundaries between these ance fet,
‘Cea, ot each of these agumenis has te same weight or certainty;
Some may present counts argument. Ye, think, the weight of he evidence
proenced fra fur anguments ake colcerly ie somucra vw
[iramanica!bermencuts) supports the clas T make i his paper.
11 Argument from the Epistemalogy of Dharma an Dharmas
Laviviere* and Wealer* have argued, convincingly 1 belive, that she
historia sours of dharma nthe Darna stas sot he Ved hu “str
(Geta, that's the normative behavior and practices of varous and varied
historical communis. In seeing te Veda or some anscendent ation 28
the ange source of dharma, hsorane of Dharmas have hough tothe
theological poston enised in mot ofthe Dharmas themsenes
tothe provenance ofthe dharma tht they ate teaching”
4. ven hin ns pun Oun, “Dhaai: Lisa Hey
sa Lieber est) aden A aaa ang
Famine, —
Indian Piosphy 32 6 DO, pI?
1 Oa "Epc ithe ty Htc of Dien Ons Recr
(85 Enc Sh 0" Ya CE, Nowe os Onda Pe 506,
9